Method for making electrical windings for electrical machines and winding obtained by said method

ABSTRACT

This invention presents a novel method for designing and manufacturing electrical windings for electrical machines. The presented manufacturing technique gives possibilities for an increased filling factor compared to conventional technique and improved heat transfer through application of thermally conductive compounds. Proposed winding schemes avoid intersection between different winding layers in the end-winding region. This helps automating winding production, simplifies insulation between winding layers and, if this is necessary, simplifies insertion of the winding. Both these factors affect the cost and reliability of the winding. This method is applicable for a broad range of electrical machines and allows easy automation of the winding process.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention is related to the production of electrical windings for conventional electrical machines with slots and slotless electrical machines. This invention is also related to the winding structures obtained by the said method.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing electrical windings for electrical machines. The purpose of this invention is to provide a simplified technology for winding production suitable for a wide range of electrical machines.

Since the structure of electrical machines can considerably differ depending on its power, a few embodiments are presented in this invention. Some of the presented embodiments are also suitable for linear machines.

The general structure of this invention and relationship between different embodiments are presented in FIG. 1. In embodiments 1 and 2 winding schemes are described which considerably simplify manufacturing multilayered stator windings. These winding schemes avoid intersection between different winding layers in the end-winding region. This helps automating winding production, simplifies insulation between winding layers and, if this is necessary, simplifies insertion of the winding. Both these factors affect the cost and reliability of the winding.

Embodiments 3, 4 and 5 are devoted to slotless stators. Embodiment 3 describes manufacturing of insertable windings made of round wire. Such a manufacturing technique is suitable for different winding schemes. However application of winding schemes described in the first two embodiments would give clear advantages in providing interlayer insulation and general automation of the process. Embodiment 4 describes manufacturing foil windings for slotless stators. This type of windings allows achieving high filling factor and easy automation. Embodiment 5 describes manufacturing tape windings. This type of windings is suitable for low power machines where winding has to be compact. A presented manufacturing technique allows high filling factor and also gives a possibility for embedding soft magnetic materials directly into the winding. Tape winding technique is applicable both for conventional round/ square wires and for foil wires.

The last three embodiments (6, 7 and 8) are devoted to stators with slots, because so far stators of most electrical machines have teeth and slots. A slotted winding structure can be easily acquired using tape winding technique (embodiment 6). Slots in the winding can be provided by introducing corresponding teeth during winding process. This technique is suitable for automation and gives high filling factor. Embodiment 7 describes a manufacturing technique for premade insertable windings made of a round wire. This winding system provides easy assembly and maintenance. The presented manufacturing technique gives possibilities for an increased filling factor compared to conventional technique and improved heat transfer through application of thermally conductive compounds. Embodiment 8 gives manufacturing technique for foil windings. The described technique is particularly suitable for long motors and provides high filling factor. This technique relies on split stator cores.

DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART

Conventional manufacturing technique for stator windings is based on inserting of prewound coils in the stator slots. As a result of insertion the order of wires in slots can be distorted. For this reason these windings are called random. Distortion of the order can lead to reduction of the filling factor. Besides, random distribution of wires can cause non-uniform electrical load on the wire insulation. A full phase voltage might be present between two neighboring wires. This imposes a requirement that the wire insulation should be able to sustain the full operating voltage. For a winding with controlled location of the wires such a requirement would be excessive. Therefore this technique leads to incomplete use of wire insulation. During insertion there is a chance of damaging wire insulation. After that forming may be done for the end-winding in order to achieve necessary compactness of the end-winding and allow rotor assembly into the stator. In order to recover insulation properties, the stator with the winding is dipped into epoxy bath. Impregnation with epoxy also improves thermal conductivity between the winding and the stator. This is important, since high winding temperature can lead to thermal degradation of insulation. Bringing epoxy in the space between wires is a trivial task. But impregnating slot insulation might require high pressure, which is often omitted due to increase of production costs. The stator windings are usually cooled through the stator core. This puts the slot region of the winding in a certain advantage with respect to the end-winding region. In order to cool down end-winding region either air-cooling or potting are applied. However potting requires special tooling and is usually avoided.

The number of layers in such windings is normally limited to two. On rare occasions three layers can be encountered. However in most cases, especially in low power machines, only one phase is present in each stator slot. Despite reduction in cost, this adversely affects the quality of the stator magnetic field and leads to extra losses in the machine.

Since recently concentrated teeth windings are being used. These windings are convenient for automatic manufacturing. However they provide even lower filling factor compared to random windings. In addition to that concentrated teeth windings generally give poor stator field quality.

Manufacturing techniques presented in this invention offer a solution for the aforementioned problems. The main goal of this invention is to provide such a technique that gives higher filling factor, higher heat transfer from the winding, higher reliability of insulation of the winding and reduced manufacturing costs through extensive use of automation. This goal can be achieved by manufacturing multilayered premade winding systems without intersected end-windings and with ordered location of the wires.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an insertable self-supporting premade electrical winding for stators of electrical machines with or without slots.

Another object of the present invention is to avoid any damage to the insulation during winding.

A further object of the present invention is to conduct winding and impregnation in a single operation.

A further object of the present invention is to allow a simple use of thermally conductive impregnating compounds.

A further object of the present invention is to allow a simple use of permeable impregnating compounds.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a possibility for applying a magnetic field to said permeable compound.

A further object of invention is to provide an easy way of introducing interlayer and slot insulation.

A further object of invention is to provide a way of introducing fiber reinforcement into the winding when extra rigidity is required.

A further object of invention is to allow different winding schemes with an arbitrary number of winding layers.

A further object of invention is to provide a possibility for increasing current density in the winding.

Depending on the specific power of the motor, different goals get different priorities. For instance, in low power machines energy density is relatively low and thermal issues are less important. On the other hand, simplicity of a selected manufacturing technology could be crucial in providing a competitive product. In large power machines the energy density is high and providing acceptable winding temperature is the key for a stable operation of the motor. Reducing the winding temperature should not necessarily be the target. If through introduction of a new winding technique the same winding temperature could be achieved with a simplified cooling system, the total cost could be reduced and the general reliability of the motor could be increased via improved reliability of the cooling system.

Therefore a number of embodiments were considered. The general structure of the patent and interlink between different embodiments are demonstrated in FIG. 1. Embodiments are indicated with a thick border around a corresponding item.

In embodiments 1 and 2 winding schemes are described which considerably simplify manufacturing multilayered stator windings. These winding schemes avoid intersection between different winding layers in the end-winding region. This helps automating winding production, simplifies insulation between winding layers and, if this is necessary, simplifies insertion of the winding. Both these factors affect the cost and reliability of the winding.

Embodiments 3, 4 and 5 are devoted to slotless stators. Embodiment 3 describes manufacturing of insertable windings made of round/square wire. Such a manufacturing technique is suitable for different winding schemes. However application of winding schemes described in the first two embodiments would give clear advantages in providing interlayer insulation and general automation of the process. Embodiment 4 describes manufacturing foil windings for slotless stators. This type of windings allows achieving high filling factor and easy automation. Embodiment 5 describes manufacturing tape windings. This type of windings is suitable for low power machines where the winding has to be compact. A presented manufacturing technique allows high filling factor and also gives a possibility for embedding soft magnetic materials directly into the winding. Tape winding technique is applicable both for conventional round/square wires and for foil wires.

The last three embodiments (6, 7 and 8) are devoted to stators with slots, because so far stators of most electrical machines have teeth and slots. A slotted winding structure can be easily acquired using tape winding technique. Necessary adjustments are presented in embodiment 6. Slots in the winding can be provided by introducing corresponding teeth during winding process. This technique is suitable for automation and gives high filling factor. Embodiment 7 describes a manufacturing technique for premade insertable windings made of a round wire. This winding system provides easy assembly and maintenance. The presented manufacturing technique gives possibilities for an increased filling factor compared to conventional technique and improved heat transfer through application of thermally conductive compounds. Embodiment 8 gives manufacturing technique for foil windings. The described technique is particularly suitable for long motors and provides high filling factor. This technique relies on split stator cores.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 represents the general structure of the patent and interlink between different embodiments.

FIG. 2 represents a relationship between the angle between layers and the phase zone for a 3-phase winding (m=3), 1 pole pair (p=1), 3 winding layers (n=3) and 12 slots (Z=12).

FIG. 3 represents a relationship between the angle between layers and the phase zone for a 3-phase winding (m=3), 1 pole pair (p=1), 2 winding layers (n=2) and 6 slots (Z=6).

Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1.1 represents the general structure of a concentric winding system with 120° phase zone.

FIG. 1.2 shows 4-pole magnetic field created by two concentric windings with 120° phase zone made using classical approach.

FIG. 1.3 shows 4-pole magnetic field created by two concentric windings with 120° phase zone made using tape-winding approach.

FIG. 1.4 shows 2-pole magnetic field created by two concentric windings with 120° phase zone made using classical approach.

FIG. 1.5 shows 2-pole magnetic field created by two concentric windings with 120° phase zone made using tape-winding approach.

Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 3.1 represents a mandrel for manufacturing a slotless winding.

FIG. 3.2 represents the mandrel for manufacturing a slotless winding, side rings, ribbons with turning pins and a few turns of metal wire.

FIG. 3.3 represents the mandrel for manufacturing a slotless winding, side rings, ribbons with turning pins and a completed winding layer with interlayer insulation on it.

FIG. 3.4 represents the mandrel for manufacturing a slotless winding, side rings providing the outer shape to the winding, ribbons with turning pins and a few turns of metal wire.

FIG. 3.5 represents a mandrel for manufacturing a slotless winding with axial pins in the low end-winding region and a ribbon with turning pins in the top winding region.

FIG. 3.6 represents a mandrel with a ring of radially magnetized permanent magnets, completed winding, side rings providing the outer shape to the winding and magnetic field lines through the mandrel, completed winding and side rings.

FIG. 3.7 represents a completed winding inserted into the slotless stator.

Embodiment 4 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 4.1 represents a cylindrical mandrel for manufacturing a slotless foil winding, an internal support, and the first end wire fixed on the mandrel.

FIG. 4.2 represents a winding procedure for a coil of slotless foil winding.

FIG. 4.3 represents the first completed coil of the first layer of the foil winding with the first and the second end wires.

FIG. 4.4 represents the first and the second completed coils of the first layer of the foil winding with the first and the second end wires shown.

FIG. 4.5 shows an intermediate insulation layer installed on top of the first completed winding layer.

FIG. 4.6 shows the second winding layer wound on top of the intermediate insulation with axes of coils shifted with respect to the axes of coils of the first winding layer.

Embodiment 5 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 5.1 represents a central tooth and metal wire wrapped around said tooth with indication of directions of the winding.

FIG. 5.2 represents a central tooth and a few turns of metal wire wrapped around said tooth.

FIG. 5.3 represents a central tooth, a few turns of metal wire wrapped around said tooth and side plates.

FIG. 5.4 represents a central tooth, a few turns of metal wire wrapped around said tooth and side plates installed on said tooth.

FIG. 5.5 represents a few tape coils manufactured on the same tooling.

FIG. 5.6 represents two coils cut from a continuous tape.

FIG. 5.7 represents two sets of coils cut from continuous tapes and folded inside each other in order to obtain a 2-phase 2-layered winding system.

FIG. 5.8 represents a set of coils connected in series with pieces of soft magnetic materials embedded inside coils.

FIG. 5.9 represents a central tooth and the first end wire of a foil winding.

FIG. 5.10 represents a manufacturing process for the foil winding.

Embodiment 6 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 6.1 represents side plates, insulation plates next to said side plates, teeth to be inserted between said side plates and insulation wrapped around said teeth.

FIG. 6.2 represents tooling ready for starting manufacturing a tape winding for stator with slots.

Embodiment 7 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 7.1 represents a mandrel for manufacturing a winding for a stator with slots, extractable teeth corresponding to the profile of stator teeth, side rings and a ribbon with turning pins.

FIG. 7.2 represents an assembly of a mandrel for manufacturing a winding for a stator with slots, extractable teeth corresponding to the profile of stator teeth, side rings and a ribbon with turning pins.

FIG. 7.3 represents an assembly of a mandrel for manufacturing a winding for a stator with slots, side rings and extractable teeth corresponding to the stator teeth and containing turning pins.

FIG. 7.4 represents a principle structure of an extractable tooth with embedded permanent magnets.

FIG. 7.5 represents a cross-section of a mandrel with extractable teeth containing embedded permanent magnets and a layer of compound containing soft-magnetic powder.

FIG. 7.6 represents a mandrel with 12 extractable teeth containing turning pins, a side ring, the first layer of concentric winding and a compacting bandage wound between teeth and turning pins.

FIG. 7.7 represents a mandrel with 24 extractable teeth containing turning pins, the first layer of concentric winding and compacting bandage wound between teeth and turning pins.

FIG. 7.8 represents a mandrel with 12 extractable teeth containing turning pins, the first and the second layers of concentric winding.

FIG. 7.9 represents a mandrel with 24 extractable teeth containing turning pins, the first and the second layers of concentric winding and a compacting bandage wound between teeth and turning pins.

FIG. 7.10 represents a mandrel with 24 extractable teeth containing turning pins, the first, the second and the third layers of concentric winding and a compacting bandage wound between teeth and turning pins.

FIG. 7.11 represents a front and axonometric views of the first layer of a three-phase stator winding containing all three phases in one layer.

FIG. 7.12 represents a front and axonometric views of the first and the second layers of a three-phase stator winding containing all three phases in each layer.

FIG. 7.13 represents a mandrel with extractable teeth, the concentric winding impregnated with compound and side rings.

FIG. 7.14 represents a cured winding after removal of the tooling and extraction from the mandrel.

FIG. 7.15 represents insertion of the winding into the stator.

Embodiment 8 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 8.1 represents a mandrel, the teeth stack assembled of two sets of laminations with short and long teeth and a pair of plastic rings installed at the sides of the said teeth stack.

FIG. 8.2 represents a mandrel, the said teeth stack, the pair of plastic rings installed at the sides of the said teeth stack and the first end wire fixed on the mandrel.

FIG. 8.3 represents a mandrel, the said teeth stack, the pair of plastic rings installed at the sides of the said teeth stack, the first end wire, the first coil of the first layer completed and the second end wire.

FIG. 8.4 represents a mandrel, the said teeth stack, the pair of plastic rings installed at the sides of the said teeth stack, the first completed winding layer and corresponding end wires.

FIG. 8.5 demonstrates the use of compacting bandages wound through axial slots in the teeth stack in order to compact the completed winding.

FIG. 8.6 demonstrates the stator yoke installed over the stack of teeth with manufactured winding.

FIG. 8.7 demonstrates a relative position of the stator yoke and the teeth stack during insertion of the teeth stack.

FIG. 8.8 demonstrates relative position of the stator yoke and the teeth stack after insertion of the teeth stack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION General Information on Embodiments 1 and 2

The winding production can be considerably simplified if different windings are not intersected in the end-winding zone. In order to avoid said intersection the winding system has to be designed in accordance with the following rules. A winding of the proposed structure is defined by a number of poles, a number of phases, and a number of layers. In accordance with this data a space angle for each concentric coil of the winding, a number of coils in each layer and a displacement angle between layers must be determined. For stators with slots a minimal number of slots necessary for the specified winding should also be determined.

TABLE 1 Properties of a new winding for two poles (p = 1) Number of layers, n Number of phases, m $\begin{matrix} {Whole} \\ {{number}\mspace{14mu} {of}} \\ {{coils}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {one}} \\ {{layer},} \\ \frac{2p\; m}{n} \end{matrix}\quad$ $\begin{matrix} {{Phase}\mspace{14mu} {zone}\mspace{14mu} {for}} \\ {{one}\mspace{14mu} {concentric}} \\ {{coil}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {winding}\mspace{14mu} {in}} \\ {{electrical}\mspace{14mu} {degrees}} \\ {\alpha_{w} = \frac{360\; p}{\left( \frac{2p\; m}{n} \right)}} \end{matrix}\quad$ Displacement angle between layers in electrical degrees, α_(layers) Minimal number of slots Z = 2pmq for q = 1 1 1 2 180 — 2 2 4 90 — 4 3 3 120 — 6 4 4 90 — 8 5 5 72 — 10 2 2 2 180 90 4 3 3 120 180 6 4 4 90 180 8 5 5 72 180 10 3 3 2 180 120 12 (q = 2) 4 4 2 180 90 8 5 5 2 180 72 20 (q = 2)

The basic principles of said winding design are provided as follows. The total number of coils in the proposed winding scheme equals 2pm, where m is the number of phases and p is the number of pole pairs. If n winding layers are introduced then the number of coils per each winding layer is equal to

$\frac{2{pm}}{n}.$

The number of coils belonging to one phase equals 2p. Therefore in a two-pole winding each phase has 2 coils (FIG. 2, FIG. 3). The coil axes of the same phase are shifted in space by 180 electrical degrees (FIG. 3). Here by the coil axis we define a vector originating in the center of machine and pointing towards the middle point of the winding. Notice that, unlike in a classic definition of the coil axis, the direction of electric current in the coil does not affect the coil axis. The space angle occupied by each coil equals

$\alpha_{w} = {\frac{360p}{\left( \frac{2{pm}}{n} \right)} = \frac{180}{\left( \frac{m}{n} \right)}}$

in electrical degrees. This angle is called the phase zone.

A minimal possible number of coils within each layer is equal to 2 (Table 1, FIG. 2). In order to provide this number of coils within each layer both coils in this layer must belong to the same phase (FIG. 2). So the number of layers corresponds to the phase number (FIG. 2).

If the number of winding layers n equals 2 (n=2) then the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer N equals to the number of phases (N=m) (FIG. 3). In this case the angle between layers is equal to the angle between axes of coils belonging to the same phase. So this angle equals

$\alpha_{layers} = {\frac{360}{n} = {\frac{360}{2} = 180}}$

electrical degrees (Table 1, Table 2, FIG. 3).

If the number of winding layers n equals the number of phases (n=m) then the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer N equals 2 (N=2) (FIG. 2). In this case the angle between layers is equal to the angle between axes of coils belonging to different phases. So this angle equals

$\alpha_{layers} = \frac{360}{m}$

electrical degrees. In case of two phases (m=2) this angle equals 90 electrical degrees (Table 1, Table 2).

If the number of layers has to be decreased, the number of coils within each layer must increase accordingly (Table 1). Most usable examples for different numbers of phases and different numbers of layers are presented in Table 2.

Concentric windings require even number of slots per coil.

If the number of winding layers equals the number of phases (n=m), and the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer equals 2 (N=2), the number of slots per coil can be calculated as follows:

${Z_{coil} = {\frac{2{pmq}}{pN} = {\frac{2{pmq}}{p\; 2} = {mq}}}},$

where N is the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer and q is the number of slots per pole per phase. Even number of slots per coil can only be provided if (mq) is also an even number. If, for instance, the phase number is an odd number (m=3,5,7, . . . ) then q must be an even number (q=2,4,6, . . . ). For this case the minimal value of q is equal to 2 (FIG. 2). A corresponding remark can be found in Table 1.

If the number of winding layers equals 2 (n=2), and the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer equals to the number of phases (N=m), the number of slots per coil can be calculated as follows:

${Z_{coil} = {\frac{2{pmq}}{pN} = {\frac{2{pmq}}{pm} = {2q}}}},$

where N is the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer and q is the number of slots per pole per phase. In this case an even number of slots per coil can be provided for any value of q (q=1,2,3, . . . ) (FIG. 3).

TABLE 2 Properties of a new winding for two poles (p = 1) for the most acceptable case in terms of the number of phases and the number of layers Number of layers, n Number of phases, m $\begin{matrix} {Whole} \\ {{number}\mspace{14mu} {of}} \\ {{coils}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {one}} \\ {{layer},} \\ \frac{2p\; m}{n} \end{matrix}\quad$ $\begin{matrix} {{Phase}\mspace{14mu} {zone}\mspace{14mu} {for}} \\ {{one}\mspace{14mu} {concentric}} \\ {{coil}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {winding}\mspace{14mu} {in}} \\ {{electrical}\mspace{14mu} {degrees}} \\ {\alpha_{w} = \frac{360\; p}{\left( \frac{2p\; m}{n} \right)}} \end{matrix}\quad$ Displacement angle between layers in electrical degrees, α_(layers) Minimal number of slots Z = 2pmq for q = 1 2 2 2 180 90 4 3 3 120 180 6 3 3 2 180 120 12 (q = 2)

It is possible to get a double number of pole pairs using the same winding by adjusting connections between different coils of each phase. For instance, the same windings presented in Table 1 and Table 2 can be used for 4 poles. Some winding properties will change after said modification of the number of poles. Therefore 2 sets of formulas are presented in Table 3 corresponding to the original and to the modified winding accordingly. In some cases the modified winding might have advantages compared to the original.

TABLE 3 Formula for the number of poles Parameter 2p = 2 2p₁ = 4 A number of coils in a single winding layer $\frac{2p\; m}{n}$ $\frac{p_{1}m}{n}$ Phase zone for a single concentric coil of the winding in electrical degree $\alpha_{w} = \frac{180}{\left( \frac{m}{n} \right)}$ $\alpha_{w} = \frac{360}{\left( \frac{m}{n} \right)}$ A number of coils per phase 2p p₁ A number of slots for a double-layer winding, (n = 2 − a number of layers, N = mp − a number of coils per layer) Z = 2pmg for q = 1, 2, 3, . . . $\begin{matrix} {Z = {2p_{1}m\; q}} \\ {{{{for}\mspace{14mu} q} = \frac{1}{2}},1,\frac{3}{2},2,\frac{5}{2},\ldots} \end{matrix}\quad$ A number of slots for a multilayer winding, (n = m − number of layers, m is an even number Z = 2pmq for q = 1, 2, 3, . . . $\begin{matrix} {Z = {2p_{1}m\; q}} \\ {{{{for}\mspace{14mu} q} = \frac{1}{2}},1,\frac{3}{2},2,\frac{5}{2},\ldots} \end{matrix}{\quad\quad}$ N = 2p − number of coils m is an odd Z = 2pmq Z = 2p₁mq per layer) number for q = 2, 4, 6, . . . for q = 1, 2, 3, . . .

In a multilayered winding system made of concentric coils with a phase zone of 180 el. deg. (Table 2) a certain asymmetry may arise between different phases. For instance, in case of a 2-phase winding system and 2 layers the layer situated closer to the rotor would have slightly smaller active resistance and smaller self-inductance compared to another layer. If symmetry between phases has to be maintained, one of the layers can be split in two, so that the other layer could be located in the middle. As a result of that a 3-layered structure can be obtained: 50% phase 1, 100% phase 2, 50% phase 1. In case of a 3-phase 3-layered winding system the following 5-layered structure can be acquired: 50% phase 1, 50% phase 2, 100% phase 3, 50% phase 2, 50% phase 1. So in a general case the number of layers can be increased to 2n-1 through splitting n-1 layers and locating them symmetrically with respect to a single central layer. In this case the symmetry between phases can be maintained.

The winding scheme described above is also applicable for a winding with a fractional number of slots per pole per phase.

Embodiment 1. A Novel Winding Scheme for 120° Phase Zone

In this embodiment a few details of a 3-phase winding scheme with a 120° phase zone are considered (FIG. 3).

Traditionally, a double-layer winding has one side in the bottom layer of one slot and another side in the top layer of another slot. A schematic structure of such a winding is demonstrated in FIG. 4.3 in the “The Induction Machines Handbook” by Ion Boldea and Syed A. Nasar, published in 2002 by CRC Press LLC, p. 73.

In these examples the winding is either wound with a diameter pitch or with a shortened pitch (FIG. 1.1). Due to the fact that each winding section has one side in the top part of the slot and another side in the bottom part of another slot, the winding sections are quite similar to each other.

In this invention it is suggested to keep each coil of the winding in one layer and produce a concentric winding. It is possible to manufacture double-layer concentric windings in a 4-pole (FIG. 1.2, 1.3) and a 2-pole scheme (FIG. 1.4, 1.5) as mentioned above. In a 2-pole scheme the windings are anti-parallel connected, and in a 4-pole scheme the windings are connected in series.

The winding coefficient for a 4-pole scheme:

$\begin{matrix} {{k_{o} = {\frac{1}{2q} \cdot {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{2q}{\sin \left( {\frac{{4q} - \left( {{2i} - 1} \right)}{6q} \cdot \pi} \right)}}}},} & (1.1) \end{matrix}$

where q is the number of slots per pole per phase.

The winding coefficient for a 2-pole scheme:

$\begin{matrix} {{k_{o} = {\frac{1}{q} \cdot {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{q}{\sin \left( {\frac{{2q} - \left( {{2i} - 1} \right)}{3q} \cdot \frac{\pi}{2}} \right)}}}},} & (1.2) \end{matrix}$

where q is the number of slots per pole per phase.

For q=4 the winding coefficient for a 4-pole scheme (1.1) gives 0.724. For the same distribution the winding factor for a 2-pole scheme (1.2) gives 0.479. A conventional double-layer winding with q=4 and a relative span β=⅚ (β=1.0 corresponds to the diametric span in a 2-pole winding) has the winding coefficient of k_(o)=0.925. Therefore the conventional winding is 1.277 times superior compared to the proposed 4-pole winding scheme (FIG. 1.2, 1.3) and 1.933 times better compared to the proposed 2-pole winding scheme (FIG. 1.4, 1.5). The 4-pole winding scheme has a relative span β=⅔ for any value of q (for q=4 β= 4/6=⅔). The relative span of a 2-pole winding span is 2 times smaller β=⅓ (for q=4 β= 4/12=⅓).

The phase zone in the 2-pole winding scheme is 120° (in electrical degrees). In the 4-pole winding scheme the winding has a 240° phase zone (in electrical degrees):

$\alpha_{w} = {\frac{2\pi}{\left( \frac{m}{n} \right)} = {\frac{360{^\circ}}{\left( \frac{3}{2} \right)} = {\frac{720{^\circ}}{3} = {240{^\circ}}}}}$

where

m is the number of phases;

n is the number layers.

The number of slots per pole per phase in the proposed winding depends on the distribution q (Table 1.1). The total number of slots in the motor for different distributions is shown in Table 1.2.

TABLE 1.1 Number of slots Z per q = Z/(2pm) pole pair 2p = 4 2p = 2 6 $q = {{6\text{/}\left( {4 \cdot 3} \right)} = \frac{1}{2}}$ q = 6/(2 · 3) = 1 12 q = 12/(4 · 3) = 1 q = 12/(2 · 3) = 2 18 $q = {{18\text{/}\left( {4 \cdot 3} \right)} = \frac{3}{2}}$ q = 18/(2 · 3) = 3 24 q = 24/(4 · 3) = 2 q = 24/(2 · 3) = 4 ${q = \frac{1}{2}},1,\frac{3}{2},2,\frac{5}{2},\ldots \;,\frac{k}{2}$ q = 1; 2; 3; 4; . . . k

As shown in Table 1 and Table 1.2, the minimal number of slots necessary for the proposed winding scheme is even, because each winding has 2 sides, and must be divisible by the number of phases m. Thus the minimal number of slots corresponding to the proposed winding schemes must be divisible by 6.

TABLE 1.2 Z = 2pmq Four poles variant Two poles variant Minimum Minimum number of number of 2p Number of slots Z slots Z 2p Number of slots Z slots Z  4 4 · 3 · k/2 = 6 · k  6 2 2 · 3 · k = 6 · k  6  8 8 · 3 · k/2 = 12 · k 12 4 4 · 3 · k = 12 · k 12 12 12 · 3 · k/2 = 18 · k 18 6 6 · 3 · k = 18 · k 18 16 16 · 3 · k/2 = 24 · k 24 8 8 · 3 · k = 24 · k 24 where k = 1, 2, 3, where k = 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . 4, . . .

Embodiment 2. A Novel Winding Scheme for 180° Phase Zone

Conventional stator windings usually have one or two layers. In this embodiment a winding scheme is demonstrated allowing the number of layers corresponding to the number of phases (Table 1, Table 2, FIG. 2).

Each layer is occupied by a single phase. So the phase zone is equal to 180 el. deg. (Table 1, Table 2). The winding is located in each slot (in case of stators with slots), which gives a maximum distribution for a given number of slots. The number of individual windings within one layer corresponds to the number of poles.

Obviously, for a 1-phase winding system just one winding layer is necessary. For a 2-phase winding system at least 2 layers are needed. For a 3-phase winding system at least 3 layers are required, and so on (Table 1, Table 2).

The number of layers can exceed the number of phases. As mentioned above, this can be done in order to maintain symmetry between different phases. For instance, in case of a 2-phase winding system and 2 layers the layer situated closer to the rotor would have slightly smaller active resistance and smaller self-inductance compared to another layer. In order to recover symmetry between phases a 3-layer scheme can be used: 50% phase A—100% phase B—50% phase A.

A similar approach can be applied to the 3-phase system. A 3-layer winding scheme can be substituted by a 5-layer scheme: 50% phase A—50% phase B—100% phase C—50% phase B—50% phase A.

Each winding layer in the proposed winding scheme is generally cylindrical. Therefore the interlayer insulation can be wound on top of a completed winding layer.

Embodiment 3. Premade Insertable Slotless Stator Windings made of Conventional Round Wire

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 3.1 illustrates a mandrel 3.1 whereupon an insertable slotless stator winding is to be wound. The mandrel defines the internal shape of the winding. Conventional winding schemes provide a thicker end-winding region compared to the thickness of the active part of the winding. In order to compensate for this extra thickness, one of the end-windings has to be shifted inwards. This is achieved by introducing a step into the mandrel as shown in FIG. 3.1. The end-winding made on the lower step of the mandrel is further referred as the lower end-winding. In order to facilitate extraction of the winding, the mandrel can be manufactured with a slight slope on cylindrical parts in the direction of extraction. In order to facilitate installation of auxiliary parts on the mandrel, the mandrel can be actually assembled of a few rings made of different materials. Some of these rings might contain permanent magnets. For production of low series of slotless stator windings expandable mandrels can be employed.

Before beginning the winding a plastic internal shell could be installed. This shell can serve three functions: it can provide internal protection for the winding; this shell can take axial forces arising during winding; it can facilitate further extraction of the winding after curing. Such a shell can also be manufactured on the mandrel by pouring a polymer on the operational region of a rotating mandrel with or without chopped glass fibers or other reinforcements being introduced. At this stage elements with turning pins have to be installed (3.2 and 3.3). Turning points are necessary in the end-winding regions in order to turn the wire. In case of a solid premade internal shell turning pins could be integrated into this shell. As polymers have a tendency to shrinkage during curing, an internal shell manufactured directly onto the mandrel would have a good bonding with the mandrel. This bonding will help sustaining axial forces arising during winding.

Turning points can be provided by means of a set of retractable cones. Turning points can also be obtained by installing plastic ribbons with pins (3.2 and 3.3) on the mandrel. These ribbons can contain a lock in order to facilitate installation. It is also possible to use premade plastic rings with pins. These rings have to be installed with a sufficient shrink-fit in order to sustain axial forces applied to the turning pins during the winding process.

After that thermally conducting compound is poured onto the mandrel. This compound consists of a polymer mixed with a sufficient amount of insulating non-metallic filler having higher thermal conductivity compared to pure polymer. One example of such filler is sand. Ceramic powders, like alumina or boron nitride, can also be used as filler. Due to the presence of the filler, thermally conducting compounds have higher viscosity compared to the viscosity of pure polymer. Viscosity generally depends on the filler content. High viscosity of the compound can help keeping the compound on the mandrel. As the mandrel will be turning back and forth during manufacturing the winding, a combination of high viscosity of the compound, centrifugal forces and alternating gravitation forces will allow keeping the compound on the mandrel. Skilled in the art can find the right combination of the filler content in the said compound, winding configuration and the winding speed.

In case of a multipole winding or special winding structures where winding occurs in a specified sector of the mandrel, the compound can be placed just on a corresponding sector of the mandrel. Before the winding proceeds into the following pole pair or just another sector of the winding, said compound can be placed onto the according sector of the mandrel.

The winding is performed with a metal wire. Preferable materials for the wire are aluminum and copper because of their superior electrical conductivity. However other metals can also be used.

As the winding goes on, the wire penetrates into thermally conducting compound. This reduces the amount of voids in the compound despite high viscosity. The wires will also help keeping the compound within the winding by utilizing a capillary effect.

In order to provide a good quality of side surfaces of the winding, side rings 3.4 and 3.5 can be used. These rings can be installed on the mandrel (FIG. 3.2) before the winding begins and can take the final position after the winding is finished. There are different possibilities for implementation of side rings. A side ring situated next to the top end-winding may actually be the integral part of the mandrel. Side rings can be also cut out of a fiber reinforced composite pipe manufactured on the said mandrel. This will provide a good correspondence between the side rings and the mandrel. Side rings can also be made of another material. It is however preferable that this material has a smaller thermal expansion compared to the material of the mandrel. It is easier to install side rings on the mandrel if they have slightly larger internal diameter compared to the corresponding outer diameter of the mandrel. During curing stage the mandrel would expand with respect to the side rings. It is possible to achieve such a situation that the gap between the side rings and the mandrel reduces to zero. Anyway due to high viscosity of thermally conducting compound used in the winding, the danger of penetration of compound between side rings and the mandrel is considerably smaller compared to a polymer without filler.

During the proposed winding procedure there is no contact between the wire and sharp edges of any other object. Therefore in case of low-voltage application interlayer insulation can be avoided. In case of medium and high voltage application it is suggested to use any of the winding schemes described in the first and the second embodiments of this invention. The interlayer insulation in this case is wound upon each completed winding layer as shown in FIG. 3.3. An impregnated material should be used for the interlayer insulation 3.7. Preferably the same polymer should be used for impregnation as the one used in the said thermally conducting compound. The insulation material can contain fiber reinforcement, preferably glass fiber as it has both good mechanical and insulation properties. If insulation material is wound with pretension an additional compacting can be achieved in the winding. After the insulation layer is installed, the next winding layer can be wound in accordance with the selected winding scheme. After the last layer is finished an outer insulation layer must be wound.

Since the winding is supposed to be inserted into the stator, the outer surface of the winding must have good quality and dimensional accuracy. This can be achieved either by machining the outer surface of the winding or by modifying the side rings 3.4 and 3.5 as shown in FIG. 3.4. Such side rings can be installed only after the winding is finished. Therefore it is also possible to use a combination of these two approaches. Namely, an outer shell can be installed over the side rings and the winding once the winding process is completed. If one of side rings is rigidly installed on the mandrel, the outer shell could be used for compacting the winding. As mentioned earlier, with an appropriate combination of materials of the mandrel (3.1) and side rings (3.4 and 3.5) it is possible to close the installation gap between these components through heating. After that a specified pressure can be applied. Excessive compound would be pressed out of the shell through corresponding holes. This leads to an increased filling factor within the winding and reduces the amount of voids in the compound.

If no outer shell is used, the curing has to be conducted while the mandrel is turning. This will keep the compound in the winding. If an outer shell is used, the mandrel does not have to turn.

Since the winding is extracted in the axial direction, it is possible to use axially oriented turning pins in the low end-winding region as demonstrated in FIG. 3.5. Turning pins can also be installed individually on the mandrel by means of a screw connection.

In case of an expandable mandrel the turning pins can be an integral part of the mandrel. These pins can further be extracted from the winding by shrinking the mandrel with respect to the winding.

In case of low-voltage windings the non-metallic filler in the compound can be replaced with iron powder or powder of another soft-magnetic material. As mentioned earlier, the mandrel 3.1 can contain additional elements, such as permanent magnets. A radially magnetized permanent ring 3.8 is shown in FIG. 3.6. If the mandrel 3.1 and side rings (3.4 and 3.5) are made of soft magnetic materials, a radially oriented magnetic field 3.9 can be achieved in the active region of the winding. This static field will help aligning the particles of magnetic powder in the compound in the radial direction. Thereby a certain radial permeability can be achieved in the active region of the winding despite relatively low density of the magnetic powder in the whole volume of the winding. The material of the magnets must be able to sustain the curing temperature. So the use of NdFeB or SmCo magnets is suggested.

Skilled in the art can alter the structure of the magnetic circuit, for instance, by positioning magnets in any of the side rings or in the both side rings, or by introducing axially magnetized magnet rings into the mandrel. All these configurations or their combination would still provide a radial field in the active region of the winding. Therefore they lay within the scope of this invention.

After curing the winding can be extracted from the mandrel and pressed into the stator 3.10 as demonstrated in FIG. 3.7. After that the rotor can be inserted from the side of the top end-winding.

Since recently there are wires with bondable coating available on the market. This type of coating can be used for bonding wires together after the winding is finished. This would considerably reduce production time, which is particularly interesting for a large-series production. In this case no impregnation compound has to be used. The rigidity of the winding can be provided with an internal support and interlayer insulation. Bondable wire can be used in combination with thermoplastic glass-fiber prepregs. Thermoplastic or other fast-curing prepregs can be used both for an internal support and interlayer insulation layers. The bondable wire and said prepreg can be preheated prior to reaching the mandrel with the winding. This would allow benefiting from a contact pressure and the temperature for obtaining a good bonding within the winding. This way a rigid insertable structure can achieved without additional curing. Such technique is suitable for expandable mandrels.

Embodiment 4. Premade Insertable Slotless Stator Windings made of Foil Wire

In this embodiment it will be demonstrated that a premade stator winding can also be manufactured with the same thickness both in the active part and in the end-winding region. For this type of winding a cylindrical mandrel (4.1) can be used (FIG. 4.1). An internal support (4.2) made of insulating material must be installed on the mandrel before the winding. Teeth on the internal support define winding sectors within each layer. The shape of the internal support allows the use of cost-effective procedures like extrusion. The first end wire (4.3) should be fixed on the mandrel (4.1) and, if necessary, covered with an insulation layer in order to prevent electrical contact with other turns of the same winding. The winding is wound concentrically around corresponding teeth of the said internal support (FIG. 4.2). Therefore a foil can be utilized, which would provide high filling factor. Here the winding scheme described in the first embodiment is used. In the 2-pole configuration there is 120° sector for each winding. So manufacturing such a winding is a trivial task. If number of poles increases, the number of teeth on the internal support increases accordingly. By introducing some modifications into the winding machine the foil could still be slid into the appropriate position in the slot. Alternative ways for dealing with these challenges are described in subsequent embodiments.

Since this type of winding naturally provides high filling factor, the neighboring foils can be held together with glue or with UV curable epoxy. It is also possible to use a bondable coating on the wire. This means that after the winding is completed, the neighboring wires can be bound together by executing appropriate heating cycle. As mentioned before, this would reduce the production time and yet provide a rigid winding structure.

Slotless stators are usually used in high-speed applications, since such stators are subjected to high frequencies. Use of conventional soft magnetic materials, like electrical steel, may lead to excessively high losses in the core. So it is preferable to use other materials more appropriate for such frequencies. Amorphous magnetic ribbons of appropriate width can be wound together with the foil.

After the winding is finished, the magnetic ribbon can be cut from the wire and the second end wire (4.4) can be fixed in order to prevent uncoiling (FIG. 4.3) until bonding is performed.

The same way other sectors (4.5) can be wound (FIG. 4.4). Each winding sector belongs to a separate phase here. Since teeth of internal support separate neighboring winding sectors, no additional insulation is needed between these sectors.

In case of a 180° winding scheme described in the second embodiment, each phase would have its separate layer. In case of a 2-phase winding system there would have been 2 winding layers and 4 teeth. Although these teeth are not magnetic, the choice of the number of these teeth must be in accordance with Table 1. For the rest the manufacturing procedure would remain the same.

An insulation layer (4.6) can be installed over the wound layer (FIG. 4.5) in order to provide insulation with the next layer. The material of this insulation layer and its thickness has to be chosen in accordance with the phase voltage and operating temperature. The interlayer insulation can be impregnated with a polymer and contain fiber reinforcement.

For high voltages the interlayer insulation has to be continuous and preferably without openings. In this case the height of the teeth of the internal support 4.2 (FIG. 4.1) should correspond to the thickness of a single winding layer. Then the interlayer insulation for the next layer would have to contain teeth. Thus it would also serve the role of an internal support.

Subsequent layers can be manufactured the same way as the first winding layer (FIG. 4.6) in accordance with the chosen winding scheme. After the last layer is wound, the outer insulation layer can be installed.

The completed winding can be filled with thermally conducting compound described in the previous embodiment. This operation can be carried out in an outer shell. This shell can be centered on the mandrel. As described in the previous embodiment, a difference in thermal expansion between the mandrel and the outer shell can be utilized in order to close the installation gap between the mandrel and the outer shell. The mandrel should have larger thermal expansion compared to the outer shell. The outer shell can contain the stator stack. After installing the outer shell the mandrel can be preheated until the required temperature is reached and then the winding can be filled with thermally conducting compound.

After curing the winding can be extracted from the tooling and inserted into the stator. If the stator stack was a part of the outer shell, then obviously no insertion is needed.

The stator can also be wound onto the winding using a ribbon of soft magnetic material. This can be done before the winding is cured. Such an option could be especially interesting for a low series production.

Embodiment 5. Premade Tape Windings for Slotless Stators

There are some applications where the thickness of the winding should be as small as possible. This is true, for instance, for low power machines.

In this embodiment a tape winding is considered that can provide a very compact design easy for assembly. Round/square or foil wire can be used for this winding type.

a) Tape Windings made of Round or Square Wire.

The principle of the winding procedure is demonstrated in FIG. 5.1. A wire has to be located under (or above) a central tooth (5.1). After that the wire ends have to turn in the opposite directions: clockwise for the back end, counter-clockwise for the front end (FIG. 5.2). In order to keep turns next to each other 2 side plates (5.2) can be installed on the central tooth (5.1) (FIGS. 5.3 and 5.4). The distance between side plates has to correspond to the double diameter of the wire.

After the winding is finished, the winding ends would stay in the winding plain. So such a winding is truly flat like a tape. Since the first turn is actually situated in the middle of the winding, an intermediate step is necessary before starting the wire. A coil has to be wound having the half-length of winding to be manufactured. This coil would be used to supply the wire during manufacturing the winding. With this intermediate coil continuous winding production can be carried out. This means that the wound windings can be connected in series.

In order to keep wires together various means could be used, as described in previous embodiments. Glue can be used, a thermoplast coating, UV epoxy or special bondable coating on the wires that can be activated by appropriate thermal treatment. Better bonding quality could be achieved if square wire is used due to larger contact area between the wires. Square wires would also provide high filling factor. In case of round wires the bonding agent should fill the space between wires.

After the winding is completed it can be impregnated into thermoplast or another polymer for easier handling. In this case the winding would actually look like a tape. Notice that one tape can contain different windings belonging to different phases. A general advantage of this technique is that manufacturing of the winding can be conducted continuously. An example of such a continuous tape is shown in FIG. 5.5. From this tape a piece of specified length can be cut out (FIG. 5.6). This piece can later be used as a single winding layer. Two winding layers wrapped in each other are shown in FIG. 5.7. This winding structure fits a winding scheme described in the second embodiment. A tape winding containing all three phases can be used in order to implement a winding scheme in accordance with the first embodiment.

During winding process inserts of soft magnetic material can be introduced between side plates (5.2). After the winding is finished, these inserts (5.3) would remain in the winding (FIG. 5.8). Notice that each coil has a slot in the center. This slot can be used in order to fix the winding on the stator. However the central tooth (5.1) can also be replaced with a piece of soft magnetic material that would remain in the coil after the winding is completed. In this case no slot would be seen in the center of the coil.

b) Tape Windings made of Foil Wire.

Tape windings can also be made from a foil wire. Approach described above is applicable to any type of wire. However in case of foil wires overlapping of end wires is less critical since foil has small thickness. Therefore manufacturing of the winding can be somewhat simplified. The first end wire can be twisted and fixed on the central tooth (5.1) as demonstrated in FIG. 5.9. After that the winding can be wound by rotating the central tooth (FIG. 5.10) with side plates (not shown for the sake of clarity). Pieces of soft magnetic material can be introduced during the winding process by sliding these pieces between side plates. Pieces of magnetic material can have larger width compared to the width of the winding. Side plates must be adjusted accordingly. This would allow introducing tooth tips and partially close the slots.

As mentioned earlier, a ribbon of soft magnetic material can be attached to the said foil in such a way that the winding with the ribbon and with the foil would be parallel.

Foil coils can be extracted from the central tooth and pressed into the slots of an internal support (4.2). Neighboring foils can slide with respect to each other. In order to facilitate sliding operation, the central tooth can be made hollow. This tooth can be kept in the coil until the coil is installed in the internal support. The central tooth must be compatible with the teeth or other elements of the internal support. Curing or bonding the wires together can be conducted after the winding is installed into the internal support.

Further manufacturing steps were described in the embodiment 4.

Embodiment 6. Premade Tape Windings for Stators with Teeth

This type of winding has partially been considered in the previous embodiment. Tape windings for stators with teeth must have corresponding slots. These slots can be implemented by introducing extractable teeth between the side plates (FIG. 6.1). Teeth (6.1) have to be inserted through corresponding holes in the side plates during winding process as the winding reaches corresponding thickness. In the beginning only the central tooth would be inserted (FIG. 6.2). This would allow better accuracy for the position of the slots and thus improve insertability of such a winding. In fact, the same approach can be used in tape windings for slotless stators with insertions of soft magnetic material where accurate positioning of these insertions is required.

Said insertions can be electrically insulated from the stator. With regard to teeth of a stator with slots, they are usually grounded. Therefore an additional insulation might be needed on the winding surface that comes in contact with stator teeth. This insulation can be introduced by winding insulation tape (6.3) on the teeth (6.1) prior to insertion in the space between side plates, or by installing premade insulation profiles (6.3) over said teeth (6.1). Interlayer insulation can also be introduced by inserting insulation plates of corresponding shape (6.4) next to side plates.

Teeth (6.1) can have different length. In order to achieve more adaptable structure teeth located further from the central tooth can have larger length.

The winding can be impregnated with thermoplast polymer. Before insertion into the stator slots the winding can be preheated in order to allow deformation. After the winding is inserted an annealing thermal cycle should be applied in order to increase the limit temperature of said thermoplast polymer.

Embodiment 7. Insertable Windings made of Round Wire for Stators with Slots

In a majority of electrical machines stators contain teeth and slots wherein a stator winding is laid. The proposed technology provides a possibility for manufacturing premade stator windings suitable for insertion into stator slots.

In FIG. 7.1 basic elements of a mandrel (7.1) and auxiliary tooling are demonstrated. The major difference with previous cases is in the presence of auxiliary tooling, such as teeth (7.6). The teeth installed on the mandrel should have a cross-section corresponding to the cross-section of the teeth of the stator wherein the winding is supposed to be inserted. Since the winding has to be insertable into the stator slots, the low end-winding region has to be situated under the teeth. For this reason the teeth are hanging over the low end-winding region of the mandrel. In order to avoid any damage to the insulation of the wire, all sharp edges have to be removed from the tooling. Round edges would be preferable. Skilled in the art can find relation between the radius of the wire, insulation type and the radius of round edges of the tooling.

Teeth hanging over the low end-winding region of the mandrel will serve as turning points. Turning points in the top end-winding region can be installed separately by one of the ways described earlier in the embodiment 3. An example of such an installation is shown in FIG. 7.2. Turning points can also be a part of teeth, as demonstrated in FIG. 7.3.

There can be a few rows of turning points.

Medium power machines require slot insulation for mechanical and eventually electrical protection of the winding. Besides, in order to reduce effect of slots and decrease ripples in the stator field, the slots should preferably be performed closed or half-closed. This complicates insertion of the winding. Therefore a magnetic wedge is sometimes inserted into the slot. The proposed technology offers a possibility for manufacturing magnetic wedge together with the winding.

The magnetic wedge is usually made of a semi-permeable material consisting of a polymer saturated with soft-magnetic powder. So for introducing magnetic wedge into the lowest part of the slot magnetic compound should be used. Magnetic compound is a mixture of a polymer with magnetic, preferably iron, powder. This compound 7.8 should be placed at the bottom of the slots before the winding starts. The teeth 7.6 installed in the mandrel 7.1 have embedded permanent magnets 7.7 (FIG. 7.5). The magnets are oriented accordingly in all teeth forming a closed magnetic field (FIG. 7.5). The purpose of this field is to align the magnetic powder in the magnetic compound 7.8. The magnetic field will also stop the magnetic compound from spreading within the slot as the winding process is started. The magnetic compound can optionally be cured in order to maintain its thickness. The mandrel and teeth should preferably be made of a nonmagnetic metal in order to avoid distortion of the field. A material of permanent magnets should have a maximum operating temperature exceeding the curing temperature of the polymer used in the said compound.

The slot insulation can be provided by pouring a certain amount of thermally conducting insulating compound on the horizontally rotating mandrel. By performing rotating movements a uniform distribution of the compound over the operating surface of the mandrel can be achieved. In some cases forward and reverse rotation of the mandrel might be required in order to achieve a uniform distribution of the compound over the operating surface of the teeth. For each specific geometry of the mandrel and viscosity of the compound the optimal turning speed can be found that would provide a uniform distribution of the compound over the operating surface of the mandrel and teeth. The acquired insulation layer can then be cured. So the wire would be unable to penetrate through this layer during the winding process.

It is possible to avoid this intermediate curing by inserting a ring made of insulating material and matching the outer shape of the mandrel. A plastic ring of such a shape and having thin walls is too flexible and cannot guarantee high dimensional accuracy of the winding. So there is still a need in internal support. The mandrel with teeth would provide such support. As will be explained later, the winding will eventually have quite high rigidity.

Instead of a closed plastic ring a flexible plastic net with cuts for teeth can be installed over the mandrel with teeth. The compound would penetrate through the openings in the net.

If additional rigidity is required for the end-winding region, glass fiber reinforcement can be brought into it. Glass fiber prepreg or wet glass fiber can be wound on the mandrel in the end-winding region.

Before the winding with metal wire begins, a layer of thermally conducting compound has to be brought on the operating region of the mandrel. After that the end wire has to be fixed on the mandrel or a side ring. The winding is supplied from a table moving horizontally with respect to the rotating mandrel. The table also contains pretension system and optionally impregnation system, the use of which will be discussed later. As the mandrel performs rotating movement, this will keep the thermally conducting compound well distributed over the operating region of the mandrel.

The preferable configuration for the winding is a concentric one as described in the first two embodiments. The wire is turned around turning pins. It is important to keep a certain distance between the teeth and the turning pins, because this will provide a possibility for compacting the winding 7.10. As demonstrated in FIG. 7.6, a bandage 7.11 is wound between the teeth end and the turning pins 7.4 around the completed layer in order to increase the filling factor in the slots.

After the layer is finished and compacted, an interlayer insulation can be introduced. A thin layer of epoxy curable with UV radiation can be sprayed over the wound layer of the winding. After that some UV radiation can be applied in order to provide a barrier between neighboring layers.

The wires situated on top of the considered layer come in touch with the next layer. So insulation of these wires is subjected to the interlayer voltage. Therefore either an extra insulation layer has to be introduced, which is usually done, or the wire insulation has to be reinforced.

In conventional manufacturing technique location of an individual wire cannot be accurately predicted. In this embodiment, since the winding is generally external, location of a wire is more controllable. So an extra insulation can be introduced on the right moment.

Strengthening of wire insulation can be done by bringing some UV curable epoxy on the wire in the impregnation system located on the moving table. This epoxy has to be cured before the wire reaches the mandrel. The wire insulation of the first turns of the subsequent layer can be treated the same way as the last turns of the previous layer.

It is also possible to introduce a premade interlayer insulation made of plastic or any other suitable insulating material. Since thermally conducting compound situated in the winding has insulating properties, the premade interlayer insulation can have openings in order to let compound from the completed and compacted underneath layer to penetrate through the interlayer insulation. This will provide better integrity to the winding structure after curing.

In high voltage applications use of special materials might be required in the interlayer insulation, like, for instance, mica tape. This material can be introduced in the slot being “wet”. This means that insulation material has to be impregnated with a polymer before introducing it into the winding. It would be better to use the same polymer as the one used in the thermally conducting compound, because in this case the same curing cycle could be used for all the polymers within the winding. Using properly impregnated insulation usually increases its electrical strength and improves thermal conductivity. Besides, it will also provide better integrity to the winding structure after curing.

Bottom winding layers made in accordance with the second embodiment are demonstrated in FIG. 7.6 and FIG. 7.7 for different numbers of stator teeth. Corresponding top winding layers (7.12) for a 2-phase machine are shown in FIG. 7.8 and FIG. 7.9 accordingly. Indeed, the top winding layer can also be compacted with a bandage (7.13) as demonstrated in FIG. 7.9. The same approach can be used for a 3-phase winding system, where each layer is occupied by only one phase (FIG. 7.10).

Such a winding provides a maximal distribution for a given number of slots.

A 3-phase system realized in accordance with the first embodiment is demonstrated in FIG. 7.11 and FIG. 7.12.

After the winding process is completed, side rings can be pressed to the winding. Manufacturing aspects of side rings were discussed in embodiment 3. Side rings (7.2 and 7.3) can either cover side surfaces of the winding (FIG. 7.1) or provide cover for the whole external surface of the winding (FIG. 7.13). After curing, which was also considered in previous embodiments, the winding can be extracted from the mandrel. Depending on configuration of turning pins, they can either be left in the winding or must be pulled out from the winding. Teeth also must be removed from the winding.

The cured winding is shown in FIG. 7.14. After that the winding (7.16) can be pressed into the stator core (7.17) as shown in FIG. 7.15.

As mentioned in previous embodiments, if the wire with bondable coating is used then impregnation with a compound can be omitted. In this case the tooling does not have to be solid and can be made expandable. So after the winding is finished and wires are bonded together, the teeth can retract into the winding and then the winding can be extracted from the mandrel.

Embodiment 8. Foil Windings for Stators with Slots

In this embodiment a winding structure is presented particularly suitable for long machines. There are applications where outer diameter is restricted. A typical example is a submerged pump. In order to give enough power such machines have to be long. Conventional winding technique provides relatively low filling factor and insufficient reliability for such windings.

It is suggested here to use separable stators.

A stack of laminations with teeth can be installed on a cylindrical mandrel (8.1) (FIG. 8.1) using special centering elements (8.2). Teeth stack can consist of a sequence of two lamination stacks (8.3) and (8.4). Thereby axial slots can be acquired. These slots are used for compacting the winding. Additional plastic elements (8.5) can be installed at the sides of the core in order to avoid damage to the wire insulation during winding.

Manufacturing procedure of the winding (FIG. 8.2 and FIG. 8.3) resembles procedure described in embodiment 4. The first end wire should have additional insulation in order to prevent short circuit with other wires of the same phase. The slot insulation can be introduced by attaching an impregnated insulation tape to the corresponding side of the foil wire before it reaches the wall of the slot. The width of the insulation tape should exceed the width of the foil. The slot insulation can also be provided by installing premade structures on the teeth stack or by installing premade plastic box-like structures on each tooth. It is also possible to install conventional slot insulation into slots.

The winding shown in FIG. 8.4 is made in accordance with a winding scheme described in the first embodiment. In order to compact the winding and wrap excessive insulation tape around the winding, bandages of impregnated glass fiber can be wound through axial slots in the core. This can be done either for the whole winding or for each winding layer separately. A completed winding with axial bandages (8.10) is shown in FIG. 8.5.

Although it has not been shown in pictures, compacting bandages can also be made around end-winding regions of each winding layer. After the winding is completed, a stator yoke (8.11) can be installed over the winding (FIG. 8.6). Installation of the stator yoke can be simplified through introduction of corresponding slopes on the teeth and on the inner surface of the yoke (FIG. 8.7). The value of this slope determines an installation gap between the stator yoke and the teeth core, which in turn depends on the length of the cores. In order to reduce the effect of additional magnetic gap in the stator core, the following two measures could be utilized:

-   -   1. A certain torque can be applied to the stator yoke after its         installation in order to assure a good engagement between the         yoke and teeth.     -   2. A magnetically permeable compound (a mixture of a polymer         with soft magnetic powder) can either be introduced on the inner         surface of the yoke or the outer surface of the teeth. 

1. A winding of electrical machine with m phases and n winding layers, comprising following properties: a. coils of one phase may be connected parallel or in series in such a way that currents flowing through these coils would create a magnetic field either having 2p poles or 4p poles, where p=1,2,3, . . . ; b. the total number of coils equals 2pm, where p is the number of pole pairs, m is the number of phases; c. the number of coils in a winding layer is an integer number and equals $\frac{2{pm}}{n},$ where p is the number of pole pairs, m is the number of phases and n is number of layers; d. the number of coils belonging to each phase equals 2p, where p is the number of pole pairs; e. the phase zone of each coil equals $\frac{180n}{m}$ electric degrees, where n is number of layers and m is the number of phases; f. a phase zone contains one concentric coil with a coil pitch varying from the maximum $\left\lbrack {\frac{Z}{\left( \frac{2{pm}}{n} \right)} - 1} \right\rbrack,$ where Z is the total number of slots, to minimum that is equal to 1; g. coil axes of the coils, which belong to the same phase, are shifted in space on an angle of 180 electric degrees; h. the number of slots per pole per phase q is equal to any integer number (q=1,2,3, . . . ) if the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer N equals to the number of phases m (N=m) and the number of winding layers n equals to 2 (n=2); the number of slots per pole per phase q equals to any even integer number (q=2,4,6, . . . ) if the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer N equals to 2 (N=2) and the number of winding layers n equals to the number of phases m (n=m); i. the number of slots equals Z=2pmq, where p is the number of pole pairs, m is the number of phases and q is the number of slots per pole per phase; j. the angle between layers is equal to 180 electrical degrees in case if the number of winding layers n equals 2 (n=2), and the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer N equals to the number of phases (N=m); the displacement angle between layers is equal to $\frac{360}{m}$ electrical degrees in case if the number of winding layers n equals the number of phases (n=m), and the number of coils per pole pair in a single winding layer N equals 2 (N=2); k. the end-windings of coils of different phases and different winding layers do not intersect in the space.
 2. The winding according to claim 1 wherein the number of slots per pole per phase q is equal to any fractional number.
 3. A method of manufacturing a premade insertable winding in accordance with claim 1 and 2 for slotless stator comprising steps of: a. Manufacturing a metal mandrel generally of a cylindrical shape with a step for the low end-winding and optionally a slight taper in the direction of extraction; b. Installation of an internal support made of insulating material; c. Installation of rings with turning pins on said mandrel; d. Installation of side rings on said mandrel; e. Treating said mandrel side rings with release agent in order to facilitate extraction of the winding; f. Pouring thermally conducting compound on the mandrel comprising polymer and powder of non-conducting material; g. Fixation and insulation of the first end wire for each new coil; h. Manufacturing coils using insulated metal wire in accordance with a winding scheme described in claim 1; i. Fixation and insulation of the second end wire for a completed coil; j. Repeating steps f.-i. for each new coil; k. Manufacturing and/or installing interlayer insulation upon each completed winding layer; l. Winding a compacting bandage on each end-winding region upon completing the winding layer; m. Repeating steps f.-l. for each new winding layer; n. Compacting and compressing the winding using a combination of the outer shell and side rings; o. Curing the winding; p. Removing side rings and extracting the winding from the mandrel; q. Installing the winding into the stator core.
 4. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein turning pins are integrated into the mandrel.
 5. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein interlayer insulation is impregnated with the same polymer as in the thermally conducting compound.
 6. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein outer shells are incorporated into side rings.
 7. The method in accordance with claim 6 wherein side rings are made of material with smaller thermal expansion compared to the mandrel.
 8. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein thermally conducting compound contains powder of soft magnetic material, the mandrel contains a layer of radially magnetized permanent magnets and side rings, the outer shell and the mandrel are made of soft magnetic material.
 9. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein turning pins are integrated into the internal support.
 10. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein said internal support contains teeth.
 11. The method in accordance with claim 10 wherein the mandrel has a cylindrical shape and does not have a step in the operating area.
 12. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the stator core is integrated into the outer shell.
 13. The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein round/square or foil wire is utilized for manufacturing the winding comprising the steps of: a. Securing the first end wire; b. Attaching a ribbon of soft magnetic material to said foil wire in such a way that the winding could be performed in parallel with the wire and with said soft magnetic ribbon.
 14. The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein wires with bondable coating are used comprising the steps of: a. Using expandable metal mandrel; b. Integrating turning pins into said expandable mandrel; c. Using thermoplastic or other fast-curing fiber reinforced prepreg for manufacturing an internal support and interlayer insulation layers; d. Preheating the bondable wire prior to reaching the mandrel with the winding; e. Preheating said prepreg prior to reaching the mandrel with the winding.
 15. A method of manufacturing a tape concentric winding comprising steps of: a. Manufacturing a central tooth; b. Manufacturing side plates matching said central tooth and installing the said side plates on the central tooth; c. Making a temporary winding of insulated metal wire connected to the main storage of said wire with the length approximately corresponding to the half length of the tape winding that is supposed to be made; d. Locating wire connecting the main storage of the wire and said temporary winding between said side plates; e. Performing circular movement in the opposite directions by the wire supplied from said temporary winding and by the wire supplied from the main storage; f. Repeating steps c.-e. for subsequent coils; g. Filling the winding with a polymer; h. Curing the winding; i. Removing side plates; j. Removing the coil; k. Repeating steps c.-j. for subsequent coils;
 16. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein pieces of soft magnetic material are inserted between side plates and introduced into a coil during winding.
 17. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein teeth are inserted between side plates during winding of the coil in order to achieve slots in the winding.
 18. The method in accordance with claim 17 wherein slot insulation is inserted together with teeth.
 19. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein interlayer insulation is inserted next to the side plates.
 20. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein wires with bondable coating are used and bonding is applied either after the winding is completed or after the final shape is achieved.
 21. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein foil wire is used and winding is performed only in one direction comprising the steps of: a. Securing the first end-winding; b. Attaching a ribbon of soft magnetic material to said foil wire in such a way that the winding could be performed in parallel with the wire and with said soft magnetic ribbon.
 22. The method in accordance with claim 15 wherein tape windings are folded into the stator in case of external stator or onto the stator in case of internal stator.
 23. A method of manufacturing a premade insertable winding in accordance with claim 1 and 2 for stators with slots comprising steps of: a. Manufacturing a metal mandrel generally of a cylindrical shape with a step for the low end-winding and optionally a slight taper in the direction of extraction and slots for installation of teeth; b. Installing a ring with turning pins on the top end-winding region of said mandrel and providing a gap for a compacting bandage between teeth and turning pins; c. Installing retractable metal teeth on the mandrel in corresponding slots wherein teeth should hang over the low end-winding region of the mandrel the teeth should have rounded edges sufficient for avoiding any damage to insulation of the wire; d. Installing side rings on said mandrel; e. Treating teeth, mandrel and side rings by release agent in order to facilitate extraction of the winding; f. Introducing a layer of insulation is introduced on the mandrel by pouring thermally conductive compound on the turning mandrel; the mandrel has to turn horizontally making a few turns in one direction and then a few turns in another direction in order to keep compound on the mandrel and have a uniform insulation layer on the operating region of the mandrel and teeth; after that curing must be performed while the mandrel keeps turning; g. Pouring thermally conducting compound on the mandrel comprising polymer and powder of non-conducting material; h. Fixation and insulation of the first end wire for each new coil; i. Manufacturing coils using insulated metal wire in accordance with a winding scheme described in claim 1 and 2 with the wire going under the teeth in the low end-winding region; j. Fixation and insulation of the second end wire for a completed coil; k. Repeating steps g.-j. for each new coil; l. Manufacturing and/or installing interlayer insulation upon each completed winding layer; m. Winding a compacting bandage on the top end-winding region between teeth and turning pins upon completing each new winding layer; n. Repeating steps g.-m. for each new winding layer; o. Compacting and compressing the winding using a combination of the outer shell and side rings; p. Curing the winding; q. Removing side rings and extracting the winding from the mandrel; r. Removing teeth from the winding; s. Installing the winding into the stator.
 24. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein a premade insulation layer is installed on the mandrel with teeth.
 25. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein wires with bondable coating are used and bonding is applied after the winding is completed.
 26. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein a. A certain amount of magnetic compound consisting of a mixture of a polymer and powder of soft magnetic material is poured between teeth before the winding; b. Tangentially magnetized permanent magnets are embedded into the said teeth and both the mandrel and teeth are made of not-magnetic material; c. This magnetic compound is cured while the mandrel is slowly turning.
 27. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein pieces of soft magnetic material are laid between teeth before beginning of the winding.
 28. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein the interlayer insulation is provided by according strengthening of wire insulation for turns coming in direct contact with another coil.
 29. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein the interlayer insulation is provided by installing a net over the mandrel with winding with openings for teeth.
 30. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein the interlayer insulation is provided by spraying a fast-curable polymer of a completed winding layer.
 31. A method of manufacturing a premade insertable winding in accordance with claim 1 and 2 for stators with split cores comprising steps of: a. Manufacturing a cylindrical metal mandrel optionally having a slight taper in the direction of extraction of the winding and additional elements for centering and fixation of a teeth core; b. Installing a teeth core on the mandrel with axial slots for further installation of compacting bandages; c. Introducing slot insulation into the slots either; d. Installing side rings on said mandrel; e. Treating teeth, mandrel and side rings by release agent in order to facilitate extraction of the winding; f. Introducing a layer of insulation in the slots either by inserting a whole premade insulation structure or by installing individual premade shells on each tooth of the teeth core; g. Pouring thermally conducting compound on the mandrel comprising polymer and powder of non-conducting material; h. Fixation and insulation of the first end wire for each new coil; i. Manufacturing coils using insulated metal wire in accordance with a winding scheme described in claim 1 and 2; j. Fixation and insulation of the second end wire for a completed coil; k. Repeating steps g.-j. for each new coil; l. Manufacturing and/or installing interlayer insulation upon each completed winding layer; m. Winding compacting bandage through axial slots in the teeth core and on end-winding regions upon completing each new winding layer; n. Repeating steps g.-m. for each new winding layer; o. Compacting and compressing the winding using a combination of the outer shell and side rings; p. Curing the winding; q. Removing side rings and extracting the winding with the teeth core from the mandrel; r. Installing the winding into the stator.
 32. The method in accordance with claim 31 wherein the stator yoke is integrated into the outer shell.
 33. The method in accordance with claim 31 wherein wires with bondable coating are used and bonding is applied after the winding is completed.
 34. A method of manufacturing a split stator core comprising the steps of: a. Manufacturing a teeth core wherein teeth are joined together and have a slope at the top edge; b. Manufacturing a stator yoke core with teeth on the inner surface with a slope corresponding to the slope on teeth in the said teeth core; c. Inserting said teeth core into said stator yoke with subsequent rotating of any of said cores in the direction of slopes on teeth in said teeth core until the teeth core and the stator yoke are completely engaged. 